When Andrew’s girlfriend, Katy, hears a violent argument between her neighbours, she can’t sleep. The next day, she goes round to check on them…and disappears.  Andrew is frantic and the police, led by DS Freeman, are more than a bit confused.  There is blood but no body and Andrew’s story just doesn’t stack up.

Then there’s the added problem that the neighbours have gone missing too – and one of them is a member of Freeman’s own team – Dawn Lawton, a great twist that made me sit up and take notice.

Along with her boss, DI Gardner, Freeman needs to find Lawton, find Katy and find out the truth about just what happened.One of the best bits about this book, which is the fourth in a series but new to me, is that while I had ideas about what would happen, I really wasn’t sure until the very end.  Andrew, Dawn, and Lee (Dawn’s boyfriend) are all hiding something, which makes it difficult to know just who is telling the truth and how guilty (or not) they are.  And Freeman and Gardner were both blinded by there own issues at times to think clearly.

As detectives I really liked them, though I do feel I’ve a missed a bit by not reading the previous books (that’s now on the agenda). They are both nice and prickly but not so damaged as to annoy me, something that seems to be happening more and more with this type of book.  Rebecca Muddiman does a good job walking what is a fine line by making them damaged enough to be interesting but not so damaged that you wonder why anyone would want to work with them.

Another thing that was a hit for me, though probably won’t make a jot of difference to most of you out there, is the setting.  Murder in Slow Motion is set in Teesside in North East England, which is where I live and where I grew up.  It’s an area that doesn’t get enough attention in my humble opinion (unless it’s bad attention it seems) and it was nice to ‘hear’ my accent and read about places familiar to me.

So, all in all, this was a big hit for me.  There was lots to praise and little to dislike – bar my feeling like I’d missed some of the back story.  I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend it.

Emma x

About the book…

Katy Jackson is missing, last seen at her neighbour’s house.

DI Gardner and DS Freeman think Katy’s boyfriend, Andrew, is overreacting. She’s been gone just a few hours. But next door there’s evidence of a struggle and blood throughout the house.

When they realise Katy’s neighbour is police officer Dawn Lawton, and that Dawn is missing too, it becomes impossible for Gardner to put his personal feelings aside, driving him to put his own career on the line as he tries to find his friend.

As Gardner and Freeman unravel both Katy and Dawn’s secrets, they discover neither woman’s life is what it seems. And when everyone has something to hide, how do you know who to trust?

Publisher: Independently Published
Publication Date: 25th February 2018
Number of pages: 288
Genre: Crime, Police Procedural
Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Find on: Goodreads / Amazon UK / Amazon US

The book is available on Amazon UK for 99p for today

Note: I received a copy of this book in return for a fair and honest review.  All thoughts, feelings and opinions are my own. Thank you to Rebecca for my copy.